Scots run away from conference field

Monmouth’s men and women swept the Midwest Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships for the seventh straight time last weekend.

The Fighting Scots’ women more than doubled runner up St. Norbert’s point total while the men won by nearly 90 points. It was the 11th straight title for the men and the women’s seventh consecutive crown.

Head coach Roger Haynes picked up the Women’s Coach of the Year honor and five Scots shared the Meet’s Outstanding Performer award. The Scots’ Mary Kate Beyer shared the women’s track award with Carroll’s Lindsay Gruenke and St. Norbert’s Emily Schudrowitcz. Monmouth’s Whitney Didier and Melissa Norville of Illinois College grabbed the women’s field event award. On the men’s side, Monmouth’s Logan Hohl, Ripon’s Cory Zimmerman and Grinnell’s Alex Reich were named the track co-winners. Monmouth’s Peyton Lumzy and Tyler Hannam were named the men’s field winners along with Dann Schneider of St. Norbert.

Monmouth took first in 10 women’s events and eight men’s. The squad also set one school record, improved an automatic qualifying time and improved three provisional times while two athletes recorded their first provisional marks.

Hohl took top honors in both hurdles events, improving his provisional time in the 110-meter hurdles and bettering his automatic qualifying time in the 400 hurdles, setting the conference record in both. The senior improved his 110 hurdle provisional effort with a 14.48 in the finals to win by nearly a full second. His winning time of 51.75 in the 400 hurdles ranks him second nationally.

Hannam earned his third high jump title. The senior equaled his career best of 6’11” to win the event over teammate Nick Byom who cleared 6’9”. It was the second time this season Hannam has recorded the nation’s best jump.

You can make it two straight titles for Lumzy in the shot put. He improved his provisional mark with a personal-best throw of 52’7-1/2” to lead a 1-2-3 Scots’ finish. Sam Cokinos was second and DeAndre Smith was third. Smith took first in the discus with a personal-best 153’8” effort while Lumzy was second. Lumzy and Cokinos placed 2-3 in the hammer throw.

Brock McAnally successfully defended his conference crown in the pole vault. He improved his provisional mark by clearing a winning and career-best 16’0”.

Michael Blodgett picked up plenty of points in three field events. The senior won the title in the triple jump with an effort of 45’5-3/4”. He also took third in the long jump and the javelin.

Senior sprinter Saidu Sesay rounded out the men’s title-holders. Sesay clocked a 21.98 in the 200 dash to win his first title in the event. Kiante Green placed third. Sesay also ran his first provisional time in the 100 prelims and placed second in the finals, just ahead of Green and Kyle Prout.

The Scots’ 4x400 relay team picked up second place points. Hohl, Eric Brown, Shane Reschke and Garrett Daniel turned in a 3:19.16 to finish just 15-hundredths out of first. Brown added a third-place finish in the 400 dash.

A sprint over the last 75 meters of the steeplechase earned Jon Welty third-place hardware. He overtook a St. Norbert runner on the final straightaway to earn his trip to the podium.

On the women’s side, Beyer, Jae Moore and Amanda Streeter came up with big wins. Beyer broke the tape in the steeplechase with an 11:05.22 and also won the 5K with a time of 18:24.39.

Moore made it three wins in a row in the 100 dash. She ran a 12.62 to win the sprint by four-hundredths. Bailey Jackson placed third by a little more than a tenth of a second. Moore clocked a personal-best 25.56 in the 200 dash to finish second, just one-tenth behind the winner.

Streeter took top honors in the hammer throw for the second straight year. Her conference record throw of 154’11” bested teammate Allison Devor’s mark by just over seven feet.  Streeter also launched a personal-best discus mark of 129’0” to earn her second crown at the meet.

Devor led a Monmouth sweep in the shot put. Devor heaved the shot 42’6-3/4” to place ahead of Streeter and Kayla Corzine.

Didier claimed her second straight pole vault title. Her conference-record vault of 12’6-3/4” was more than two feet better than teammate Morgan Ryan who tied for second.

Monmouth’s women also successfully defended their 4x100 relay crown. Moore, Jackson, Alexa Allen and Kenzie Payton broke the tape in 49.28. The 4x400 team of Moore, Payton, Jackson and Morgan Leffel took second in that event.

Leffel wrapped up her conference career with her first hurdles title. The senior beat the field in the 400 hurdles with a personal-best time of 1:04.36. Didier placed third.

Two Scots’ freshman claimed the top two spots in the high jump. Marla Willard took top honors with a personal-best mark of 5’3-3/4” to edge teammate Emily Tysma.

Allen – the Scots’ freshman hurdles specialist – equaled her season-best of 15.54 in the prelims of the 100 hurdles. She then placed second in the finals, one-tenth back of the winner.

The Scots added to their point total with a host of third place finishes. Middle distance runner Rachel Bowden brought home a pair of thirds. The sophomore posted a school-record in the photo-finish 1500, running a 4:43.91 to take third, just one-hundredth out of second and only three-tenths out of the lead. Bowden also claimed third in the 800. Payton picked up a third in the 400 dash and Tori Beaty placed third in the 10,000.

Monmouth has five athletes who are guaranteed spots at next week’s NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships after turning in automatic qualifying marks this season. They’ll have one more chance this week to qualify or improve their marks prior to the championship field selection this weekend. The 2011 Championships will be held at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio May 26-28.